Penn’s tuition package set to rise 3.9 percent

The University of Pennsylvania will raise its undergraduate tuition package by 3.9 percent in the 2011-’12 school year, according to a Thursday press release from the university.

The growth of $2,032 brings the school’s total cost to $53,976 and represents its smallest increase in tuition and fees in 43 years, the press release said, adding that tuition and fees cover 70 percent of the cost of a Penn education. In contrast, Yale’s tuition and fees cover less than half the cost of a Yale education, University President Richard Levin told the News in 2010.

The announcement makes Penn the fifth school in the Ivy League to release its cost for next year. Penn’s cost is the highest among the five schools who have reported and $1,276 higher than Yale’s total price of $52,700.